Like A Forest Fire || Bbangsaz

VI.

Minji texts her later that night.

Hanni's curled up on her bed, taking notes for one of her upcoming exams, books spread out all around her, when the notification pops on her screen. Her stomach flips as she stares at the blinking light on her phone for a moment. She should wait. She should probably give it... at least half an hour or something. Her heart is beating a lot quicker inside her ribcage, though. She tries to turn her attention back to her notes, but the blinking light is very distracting. She stared at it again, biting her lip.

Then, she leans over and grabs her phone, sliding her fingers over the screen and quickly tapping on Minji's message.

Fuck waiting.

It's a picture of the Starbucks coffee cup. The message attached to it reads 'best cappuccino of my life.'

Hanni grins, tugging her bottom lip back with her teeth. She stares at her phone, letting her eyes go over the words a couple more times. The comment makes her feel a little bold, a little confident, so without properly thinking she types back Which part of 'call me' are you interpreting as 'text me' exactly? She sends it before she can stop herself.

About ten seconds later, her phone starts ringing.

A heavy shiver runs down her spine, Fuck. Of course. Damn it, she even asked for it. After letting it ring for another ten seconds, she takes a deep breath, taps the screen and picks the phone up.

"Hi," she says, praying that her voice doesn't give away the fact that her entire chest is suddenly tingling.

"Hey," Minji says.

"Hey," Hanni says again, feeling stupid about it right away.

"Hi..." Minji repeats and Hanni can see the teasing smile without seeing it. She closes her eyes and runs her hand through her hair - nervous habit. Why is it always so impossible to keep her act together around this girl? She leans back into the pillows, starting to feel a little hot, which she absentmindedly registers as a reoccurring thing when it comes to Minji, so maybe she should start getting used to it.

"H-how are you?" Hanni stutters out then, because she has to say something.

"Really?" Minji says, playful edge to her voice. "Is that why you told me to call you instead of texting you? So you could ask me how I'm doing, even though you saw me, like, an hour ago."

"Well-" Hanni says, feeling herself get more embarrassed by the second. "-a lot can happen in an hour, right?"

Minji chuckles. "Absolutely - and dont get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I like hearing your voice."

God, it's a good thing that they're talking on the phone, because Hanni can just feel herself starting to blush harder with every passing moment. Get it together.

"So..." she quickly continues, trying to shift into actual conversation instead of making a fool out of herself while Minji grins on the other end of the line. "Are we still on for Saturday?"

She can hear Minji laugh softly. "We're still on."

"Good..." Hanni breathes out, and then, because she's done with being shy and bashful all the time, she blurts out, "Let me take you out. You know- before the event."

There's a beat of silence and it sounds like Minji takes in a sharp breath before she says, "Okay, y-yes. I would - love that."

Hanni bites her lip, feeling her confidence kick back into place as she notices the nervous edge to Minji's voice. "Great. Text me your adress. I'll come pick you up."

"Okay..." Minji says, before adding, "It's a date."

"It's a date," Hanni replies, voice a little raspy, unable to stop smiling.

"All right, see you on Saturday then."

Hanni smiles. "See you on Saturday. Good night."

She falls back onto her mattress as soon as Minji hangs up. For a moment she just slowly breathes in and out. But then it's like her entire body catches fire and she realizes what's happening, what they actually agreed on. She can't help but squeal out, kicking her legs against the bed, as all the excitement and tension and endorphins start to rush through her.

Fucking hell - they're going on a date.